Students at the Ulpanat Horev religious girls' school in Jerusalem have been accused of racism this week after footage showed them wearing blackface and mocking Jews of Middle Eastern and North African descent.
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The video was recorded and uploaded to YouTube last month, as a skit ahead of the Purim holiday, to show what their school, whose students are mostly Jews of European descent, would look like if it was Mizrahi. It was taken down within hours after it began generating backlash.
Video: Ulpanat Horev
In the skit, students present several scenarios comparing the behavior of Ashkenazi and Mizrahi "students", with the latter portrayed as more boorish and rude. In some parts of the video women who appear to be the teacher and the administrator of the school can also be seen.
Aryeh Deri, head of the Sephardi ultra-Orthodox Shas party, blasted the video, saying it was "wretched and outrageous racism, prejudice, contempt and mockery."
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu too rejected it, saying the skit did not "represent the national religious public. Discrimination and racism have no place in the State of Israel."
Similarly, Education Minister Yoav Kisch called the video "appalling" and called for an investigation of the video and those involved.
The school and the students later apologized, saying the skit was meant to be humorous.
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